Luxuria
by some kind of exquisite
Summary: A new big bad in Mystic Falls pushes Jeremy and Bonnie closer than ever before. Rating subject to increase.
1. New and Improved

_So, IDK if you've heard the spoiler about Bonnie/Jeremy MAYBE getting together in season two. I'm not sure how I like the idea but I do believe Jeremy's gotten hotter lately and I wanna explore this for myself in the safe confines of fanfiction before seeing it on screen. Hope you likey! =)_

**ONE**

**Luxuria: _n. Latin_; **_lust, self-indulgent sexual desire (personified as one of the deadly sins)_

She was perfection captured in the form of a petite, bronzed cheerleader. Even a blind man could attest to that, from the curve of her full lipped smile to the sparkle in her hazel eyes. So what was wrong with this picture?

Tyler Lockwood, that assface currently parading as the boyfriend of Bonnie Bennett with an insecure vice grip around her petite waist, that's what. Jeremy Gilbert seethed quietly, tearing into his ham sandwich with renewed vigour.

"If you stare any harder at Bonnie, you'll bore holes into her back."

"Elena." Jeremy did not turn as Elena seated herself aside him on the mouldy brown bench. "I wasn't staring."

"'Course you weren't," Elena said sarcastically, emphasized by an exaggerated roll of her eyes. He sighed, puzzled as to his sister's sudden appearance.

"What do you want, Elena?"

He'd given up the substance abuse a long time ago so why wouldn't his older sister get off his back?"

"You need to tell Bonnie how you feel. I'm sick of Tyler hanging around her like her personal lap dog."

Jeremy's face split into a spontaneous grin despite himself. Finally, someone that recognized Tyler Lockwood as the dickhead he really was without immediately writing Jeremy off as jealous.

"Does that mean you're going to do it?" Elena asked, quirking a brow at him. Jeremy fought the smile tugging his lips up at one corner.

"Maybe." He demolished the rest of his sandwich. "I mean, it's not like we hang out or anything."

It was true. His sister and her friends, Caroline and Bonnie, were juniors and thus older than him. However, this gave him some 'cool factor' when it came to the other guys in his grade seeing as Caroline and Bonnie had always viewed him as a little boy, blowing him kisses in the hallways and pinching his cheeks. Demeaning? Yes, very much so. Hard-on inducing? Sadly...yes.

"How did you grow up so fast?" Elena asked, eyebrows now furrowed as though she were dissecting him. His face tinged a deep pink, Jeremy busied himself with his water bottle.

He was taller now, that was for sure. He towered over his sister at six feet and his figure seemed to be expanding by the day. Shoulders grew broader and muscles more prominent. His brown hair was longer now, not forced into any particular style but often combed with a neat part. His closet staple of thin, dark hoodies had gradually grown less frequent and edgy leather jackets and carefully worn jeans took their place. Jeremy Gilbert was no longer the fifteen year old boy Caroline and Bonnie cooed over.

"Somewhere between you spooning your bloodsucker boyfriend and spending all your time at the Salvatore boarding house, I think." He hadn't meant to sound so cold, so hurtful, but the tears misting Elena's eyes told him that he'd succeeded.

"El-" But she was gone and Jeremy lacked the energy to follow her.

* * *

"Where are you headed after school?"

Bonnie bit her lip, sure she was going to pass out from the overpowering heady scent of Tyler's aftershave. He had just come out of the locker room and his dark hair was damp and plastered to his forehead. A loose red tee shirt draped over well-formed muscles and baggy blue jeans hung low on his hips.

"Elena's place." Tyler made a face and Bonnie swatted his arm. "Be nice!"

"I like Elena fine," Tyler explained, unloading her heavy Biology books from her hands. "It's just her snotty little brother I can't stand."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Jeremy? But he's just a little kid."

Tyler shrugged defensively as they exited the school building. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Not as innocent as he pretends to be."

"Looks at me like what?" Bonnie asked, a playful mischief lighting her eyes.

"Like he wants to do things to you only seen in hardcore porno."

Now, it was Bonnie's time to make a face. "You would know. And so you're different how?"

Tyler grinned with that boyish ease she loved. "Only I'm allowed to act upon those fantasies."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, stopping in front of his car and dropping her back into the trunk.

"You're full of yourself."

"You love it."

And she did.

* * *

Jeremy opened the door when she rapped against the rich chestnut-coloured wood. Bonnie's heart skipped an involuntary beat as he face her having just come out of the shower. A white towel hung dangerously low on his hips and his black boxer band was visible from underneath. His hair was wet and mussed, framing sweet brown eyes. He smelt fresh, like lemons and ocean breezes. It was intoxicating.

"Hey, Jeremy." She resisted all bodily contact as she manoeuvred past him and into the spacious foyer of the Gilbert household. "Elena home yet?"

"Yeah, but then she went to the local store to grab some snacks. You girls and your junk food."

Bonnie turned, raising an eyebrow in mock offence. "Are you calling us fat?"

Jeremy looked shocked as though he couldn't envision the possibility try as he might. "N-no. Of course not. Anyway, I'd keep you company but..."

He gestured down to his waist and a weak smile turned Bonnie's lips. "Of course. Don't let me keep you. I'll just...channel surf for a bit, or something."

No sooner had she watched three minutes of a Spongebob episode than Jeremy came crashing into the living room.

"Done," he grinned at her, flashing a set of pearly white teeth identical to his sister's. He was clad in a plain back tee shirt and the same jeans she'd seen him wearing at school. His hair was still damp and that fresh invigorating fragrance still clung to him, making her eyes want to roll into the back of her head and her body convulse in a pleasurable way.

"That was quick," she commented instead, scooting over to make room on the couch for him.

"I'm fast," Jeremy agreed, nodding solemnly. "So, Spongebob huh?"

"Good stuff," Bonnie teased, the lilting tone of her voice daring him to disagree.

"Nah, I agree. Can't really go past it."

He was inches away now, leaning casually into the sofa and resting a muscular forearm around the back. He allowed his fingers to lightly graze her cinnamon shoulder.

Bonnie found herself unable to concentrate on the cartoon, finding it incredibly trivial all of a sudden.

"So..." Jeremy cleared his throat. "Um, how was school?"

"Good," she replied eagerly. A little too eager as she nearly jumped out the of the sofa and onto the coffee table. She was just glad to have a conversation topic.

Discouraged, Jeremy drew back his arm. "Look, I was thinking-"

"Haven't interrupted have I?"

Jeremy turned, trying to burn a hole through Elena with his glare. Stupid cockblock with her bad timing and-

"No, Elena, you're just in time!" Bonnie's voice took on a more high-pitched frequency. "Homework! We should get started, no?"

She stumbled out of the room, holding onto Elena for balance. Elena turned, giving her brother a look which read: _What the hell happened?_

Jeremy shrugged, his eyes conveying his own confusion.

The two girls began chatting amicably about inconsequential things: schoolwork, cheerleading, who Aimee Bradley had hooked up with at the last party...

Meanwhile, Jeremy turned and buried his face in his hands. This was supposed to be the year. The year he shook off his 'sweet little Jeremy Gilbert' persona and became the kind of strong, confident and charming _man_ Bonnie Bennett could love. Yet again, it seemed like the fates had dealt him a cruel hand. Because he was sitting there, damp through his clothing and watching a children's' cartoon in an unlit room while Tyler Lockwood was sitting at home probably thinking about all the ass he was going to get that night.

Life could be so unfair.


	2. Meredith

_I hope you guys like the plot I came up with for this story. The focus is still the developing relationship between Jeremy and Bonnie but I wanted a meaty storyline to write as well, a sexy multi-faceted villain. LOTS of information packed into this. Don't worry if you can't remember it all. I had a lot of fun coming up with it so I hope you like reading it! Let me know if you find any inconsistencies. =]_

**TWO**

The town was alight for the annual Winter Carnival. Lights were strung up from the town's grandest homes and floats were assembled, ready to carry the Winter Carnival King and Queen: Tyler Lockwood and Bonnie Bennett. Naturally, Caroline Forbes was unhappy.

"I mean, Winter Carnival Queen was _my_ dream! Nobody even considered Bonnie until she started dating Tyler. She doesn't even want this and- ugh!"

"Caroline, your modesty...it boggles the mind."

Jeremy snorted at Damon's comment, giving mental props to the older vampire despite his intense dislike for him. And really, Bonnie positively glowed as Winter Carnival Queen. She wore an old-fashioned gown in a vivid gold that complemented her skin tone perfectly. It had full-tiered skirt with a train and short ruched sleeves. Her brown hair was curled and piled on top of her head, kept in place with tiny diamante clips. Jeremy's breath hitched when she caught his eye.

"A little less obvious, please?" Damon smirked. Jeremy scowled, not meeting the pale blue eyes regarding him coolly to his right. His amicable attitude toward the melancholy vampire was short-lived.

"What are you on about?" Jeremy played dumb.

"Please, I can feel your pathetic longing from here."

"She has a boyfriend," Jeremy defended himself. "Some of us have-"

"-morals?" Damon filled in for him. "Please. You're the last person to be taking the moral high road. Look, kid, quick lesson: everyone - every man, woman and child - is out for themself. That Lockwood kid wouldn't think twice about screwing you over to get Bonnie so why should you? Besides...The guy's a dick."

Jeremy grinned. At least he and Damon agreed on one thing. "It's not like that. Besides, Bonnie...she wouldn't. She's too loyal and shit."

"What did I just say, twerp?"

"Bonnie's not like that. And don't call me twerp."

Damon chose to ignore his latter statement. "Oh, the quiet ones are the worst. They're all sunshine and lollipops until they're lured by something. Anything: lust, bloodlust, greed, power. You name it. Supernaturals are the worst."

"Except Bonnie's not a vampire," Jeremy reminded him. "Her personality isn't on a constant acid trip like yours."

Damon gave an exasperated sigh. "She's a witch, isn't she? Same shit, different... Well, you know how it goes."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Jeremy clenched his jaw. "She's kind and loyal and... She's just not you."

"Right. Well, I've done my bit. Let me know when you grow a pair, Gilbert."

Jeremy scowled. "Wait, your bit? Did Elena put you up to this? Damon! Hey, come back! Oh, fuck it."

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This was fast becoming one of the worst Winter Carnivals in history. At least for one Jeremy Gilbert who was tired of watching Bonnie and Tyler gaze lovingly at each other every spare freaking moment they got. He was tired of the screaming kids, the older sister who kept pulling a disappearing act and the itch this cardigan was giving him. He was just tired.

"Hello there, handsome."

Jeremy jumped, startled and tried to focus his sleepy eyes on the buxom figure before him. An uneasy feeling seized his throat as he stared at what appeared to be...Bonnie?

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"You okay?" Tyler asked, voice tender. Bonnie remembered how that used to thrill her. It didn't anymore...not really.

No, she wanted to answer. This dress itched, her jaw ached from smiling brilliantly at all the random Mystic Falls residents she'd never even seen before, and she just wanted to release her hair from these gaudy clips so it could protect her reddening neck from the thick cold hanging in the air.

"Fine," she lied instead. Yawning, she added. "I'm just tired."

"Bonnie, there you are!" Elena looked confused. "I could have sworn I just saw you heading into the woods."

Bonnie cocked a brow at her best friend. "No? Why would I be heading to the woods, I can barely walk in these heels as it is."

"I was about to ask you if you'd seen Jeremy. We have to head home soon and people told me they'd seen you two talking."

Bonnie shook her head, becoming increasingly worries. In any other town, this would just be a random occurrence but in Mystic Falls? It could only spell trouble.

"Want me to help you find him?" She was on her feet already, teetering on too high old-fashioned heels. They were a historic artefact, normally encased in a glass case at the local museum. They'd been worn by every Winter Carnival Queen since 1845.

"No, you stay," Tyler told her. "Wouldn't want to destroy those shoes after all. I'll go."

"You sure?" Bonnie asked warily.

"Stefan's looking for him too," Elena said, though anxiety lined her face. "You look tired, just stay put. I'll give you a call if- _when_ we find him.

Bonnie nodded, unable to control the sick feeling wringing her stomach and rising in her throat. She prayed he was alright.

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Well, she _looked_ like Bonnie. She possessed same almond-shaped eyes which were confusing shades of brown, green and grey. The same pink cupid's bow lips, only now they were pulled into a confident smirk. Her skin was a few shades paler, the colour of very weak tea, but her body was the same petite, tiny-waisted, slim-hipped frame Jeremy had grown used to seeing on Bonnie. She looked a little taller than Bonnie, though Jeremy attributed this to the frighteningly high leather boots she donned over her skin-tight dark rinse jeans. Her hair was deep black, mostly straight and curling at her waist.

"Who are you?" Jeremy breathed. He shuffled up off the ground awkwardly and backed into a tree. He tried in vain to wipe the grass stains from the back of his jeans.

"Meredith," the vixen responded, allowing her eyes to sweep over his frame. "Well, at least my taste in men is hereditary. I'm quite proud of my little descendant."

"Who? Who's your...your descendant?"

The last thing they needed was another doppelganger in town. It had taken them forever and some change to eliminate Katherine for good. Jeremy prayed in vain that this was just an uncanny hoax.

"Bennett. I believe they call her...Bonnie?"

Jeremy's breath caught. Yep, definitely too much to hope for. "What do you want?"

"Eager today, aren't we? Well, I suppose we haven't got forever. _You_ haven't, anyway. I believe you ran into a friend of mine, recently. Katerina Petrova?"

"Katherine?" Jeremy gaped in astonishment. Bitch was still causing them trouble over two months after her death.

"Is that what she was calling herself? Right, well, I can't say that I appreciate you killing her. Katerina and I were...what you might even call friends. As close to friends as vampires can get. I needed her, too."

Jeremy blanched. This just got worse and worse. Also...Bonnie's ancestor was a vampire? Details aside, he didn't think she'd be too thrilled at that.

"See, she was a doppelganger, which is exactly what I needed for my plan to work. Unfortunately, you and your friends put a hitch in that plan. So I decided to pay this cursed little town a visit. I've discovered the most curious thing. Apparently, that slut daughter of mine, Morgane, went on to have a daughter. Circle forward six hundred odd years and my magic remains alive. And the only remaining survivor, Bonnie? Well, she bears this curious resemblance to me."

"What's your plan?"

Meredith laughed. No, she_ really_ laughed. Throwing her head back, a lilting almost musical sound poured out of her pouty lips which were reddening with every passing second. Straightening herself, she cocked her head to one side, allowing thick waves of ebony hair to spill over razor-sharp cheekbones.

"Stupid boy. Why would I reveal that now? I'm not repeating Katerina's mistakes. I will succeed...in her memory."

She paused, pursing her lips. "Your friends are coming. I can hear them."

"What's your name?" Jeremy blurted out.

"I've already told you."

Jeremy's mind spun. If they were going to stop her, they'd need something to work on. But she wouldn't just willingly give up a family name they could research. Meredith was sharp, that he knew.

"So it's Meredith Bennett?"

She curled her lip in disgust, as though the very thought repulsed her. "It's Meredith Lenoir."

Her voice was haughty and Jeremy tried to look awed.

"O-Of course."

He had barely gotten the word out when Meredith seemed to disappear before his very eyes. In his peripheral, he saw Tyler, Stefan and Elena jog up to him. He sighed. They had a lot of work to do.

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"The Lenoir family were a very old, very powerful witchcraft dynasty," Stefan told them, looking up from a dusty leather-bound tome. "They existed in 15th Century France though there are records of them from earlier."

"What happened to the line?"

"It supposedly died out when the last remaining holder of power, Meredith, was turned into a vampire by an obsessive lover in her town. Augustus Blanc."

"What happened then?" Bonnie asked, rapt. As terrifying as all this was, there was something exciting about discovering the origins of her power.

"She escaped, just ran away in the middle of the night. Her strange behaviour in the days leading up to it meant her family told the villagers she was ill. Truthfully, they thought she was possessed."

"She was neither," Damon felt the need to state the obvious. "Good to know humans' inability to _not_ jump to conclusions stems from so far back."

"And there aren't records of her after that?" Bonnie asked, voice tinged with disappointment.

"No, sorry. Presumably, this is around when she met up with Katherine. If she got as far as Eastern Europe, that is."

"Maybe she turned her then?" Jeremy piped up. He had been quiet for a long time, soothingly rubbing Bonnie's back when she looked upset or stressed.

"What?"

"Well, Meredith was older than Katherine. Katherine would be, presumably, human when they met. Maybe Meredith turned her?"

"Why would she do that?" Damon's eyebrows furrowed, though he had to admit the kid might be on to something.

Jeremy shrugged. That was all he had.

"Love?" Tyler suggested. Keeping a werewolf around was always handy, though he put the resident vampires on edge.

"Oh, how romantic!" Caroline clapped her hands together, beaming.

Damon wrinkled his nose. "Whatever."

"So, this daughter she had..." Jeremy prodded. Stefan's face lit up.

Research was solely Stefan's domain. Damon muttered, "Nerd," under his breath.

"Well, no records show she had a daughter. Then again, nobody's ever had a name to research. Thanks to Jeremy, we do. Morgane."

They scooted closer to Stefan, crowding around the single oil stained picture of a young girl - not much older than Bonnie, Elena or Caroline - captioned with words written in slanted cursive: _Morgane Salvatore."_

"Salvatore?" cried six voices in unison. Only Stefan looked unsurprised, having read the back story earlier while they were all freaking out and finding their vampire hunting equipment.

"Freaky, huh?"

"More like downright fucked up," Damon sneered as he skim-read over his brother's shoulder.

"Hey," Bonnie exclaimed. "I'm not exactly proud my ancestor would hook up with a Salvatore, okay?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"Well, there isn't a church notice or anything," Stefan stated the obvious. "Looks like Meredith and Grandpa Salvatore weren't exactly the 'wed before God' type. Did manage to find some letters though. Well, notes really. They're from a 'Giuseppe Angelo Salvatore'."

Damon snatched them, not caring that he might potentially destroy 500 year old papers.

_Meredith,_

_When will you return, my love? The whole manor senses your absence. Laughter no longer rings through these halls and joy no longer fills the hearts of all who reside here. Only the blood red of the roses which have come to full bloom at last, remind me of you. They remind me of your intoxicating fragrance, of your lustful lips, and bold love of life. Morgane weeps for you every day and it pains me to look upon her familiar face. All her aspect mimics that of her beautiful mother's, but her countenance, Papa swears is intrinsically Salvatore. Those knowledgeable blue eyes and confident walk."_

Damon tossed the first letter back. "Grandpa Salvatore sounds whipped. Pompous and whipped."

He seemed to find nothing interesting in the other letters and handed them back to Stefan, one by one. Bonnie glared at him, gathering them into her arms and sitting in a corner to pore over them. Jeremy went to sit aside her.

"So we need a plan," Damon began, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Impossible," Stefan cut in. "We need to know what she's up to. We can't just go in half-cocked and hope for the best."

"Bullshit!" Tyler gritted out angrily. "If someone's threatening Bonnie, that's exactly what we're going to do."

"Stefan's right," Damon said, daring the werewolf to disagree. "We need to know more."

"We know her entire fucking family history!" Tyler snapped. "This is bullshit, if it were Elena in trouble, heads would be rolling now."

The room quieted. "If you're suggesting I'm biased, Tyler," Stefan began, as though the very thought were absurd. "You're mistaken."

"The hell I am." The younger werewolf glared back.

Across the room, in their own little corner, Jeremy and Bonnie were still discussing Meredith.

"She won't hurt you," Jeremy told her. "I'll make sure of it. I don't know how but...I will."

Bonnie smiled. "Thanks, Jer. That means a lot."

Jeremy smiled, unable to help the blush creeping into his cheeks.

"Just one question," he said, trying to avert the topic. "If Meredith was a vamp, then how did Morgane...happen?"

Bonnie furrowed her eyebrows. "It doesn't have any dates, not even when Morgane was born or anything. But this letter, it mentions something that caught my attention."

She pointed out the passage to Jeremy.

_Augustus Blanc continues to visit every day. He asks for you with those frightening eyes of his. I can't explain it, he always looks...hungry. Like he'd really like to eat one of us alive. I try not to leave him alone with Morgane but the curious thing is, on the occasions I do, he is quick to leave the house with his tail between his legs and nary a visit for the rest of that month._

"This was when Meredith was supposedly ill, then," Jeremy voices Bonnie's thoughts aloud. "Or possessed or whatever. She must have run away soon after. Poor Giuseppe, always waiting..."

"And Morgane was just coming into her powers," Bonnie said. "Meredith may have become a vampire but the power continued to exist. The Lenoir line went on...in a way."

Something else troubled Jeremy. He felt it was better to wait until he had the room's attention.

"Guys," he interrupted the heated bickering. A red-faced Tyler fell back as Damon turned his manic snarl onto Jeremy.

"What?" he hissed.

"Before Meredith left, when I was trying to get her last name... I asked if it was 'Bennett', and she seemed sort of...offended. She also never mentioned anything about a Bennett line of witches. Do you think that maybe..."

"Maybe the Lenoir side of Bonnie's power didn't come from her Dad or Grams' side of the family?" Stefan cut in. "I suspected as much. Bonnie's power did seem to stand out against her Grams and even Emily Bennett."

"What are you saying?" Bonnie asked warily.

"I'm saying..." Stefan inhaled deeply. "That it's time we paid a visit to your long lost mother."

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"I'm going with her," Jeremy stated before splitting up had even been voiced as an option.

"That's a good idea," Stefan agreed. "You two visit Bonnie's mom, while the rest of us stick around to find out more about Meredith and keep the town safe."

"Why should _he_ get to go with her?" Tyler asked, annoyance coating his words. "_I'm_ the boyfriend."

"No, you're the jackass," Damon muttered under his breath.

"We're going to need a werewolf around if things get ugly. Your strength and agility might also be useful if Meredith attacks before the full moon."

Stefan's reasoning was perfectly sound but it didn't help to calm Tyler's annoyance or deflate Jeremy's joy.

"Don't worry about me," Bonnie smiled kindly, cradling his face in her hands. "Me and Jer will be fine."

Not quite what he was worried about but the kiss she placed on his lips helped to smooth over the edginess to his temper.

"Where does she live?" Jeremy asked, hoping it was _really_ far away. Like, the middle of a desert in Nevada or the Arctic even.

"Lewiston."

Jeremy did some quick calculating in his head. That was...

"150 miles away." It was less than he'd hoped but, if he forgot his own selfish wants, it was more efficient to see Bonnie's mother and return to Mystic Falls as soon as possible.

That was how they found themselves the next day, in Jeremy's second-hand car, driving along the highway and listening to hair metal on the faulty stereo.

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Upon meeting Carol Bennett, or whatever her maiden name was, Jeremy immediately saw where Bonnie got her looks from. Identical emerald eyes bore into each other as mother and daughter hugged out the time difference since they last saw each other.

She invited them in and made them tea which smelt fishy to Jeremy and which he politely gulped down. The house, from what they could see, what decorated in earthy colours and had a distinct flower child feel which resonated with the woman who lived there. Her copper coloured hair was long and textured into fluffy waves held back with a tie-dye elastic. Her lips were the same shape as Bonnie's but artificially painted an orange-pink shade. Her nails were coated in chipped fuchsia nail polish and her clothes looked homemade and smelt strongly of incense.

"What can I do for you kids?" she asked, clear green eyes sparkling.

"Mom, it's about..." Bonnie paused. "Witches."

Carol's lips thinned in caution.

"I know you don't like talking about them and it had something to do with why you left Dad but-"

"You're in trouble," Carol guessed.

"How did you-"

"I knew this would surface sooner or later. I was hoping later."

"What do you know, Ms Bennett?"

"Please, I haven't been Ms Bennett in years. Call me Ms McCullough. And, honestly...not much. But I have been tracking Meredith for years. The reason I left Mystic Falls originally was to avert her attention from there."

Carol's eyes teared up. "I thought you'd be safe, Bon-Bon. After all, who would suspect teenage Mystic Falls resident Bonnie Bennett of being one of the most powerful beings in existence?"

Bonnie's eyes widened. It felt weird to hear someone put it in such blunt terms.

"You're a Gilbert." Carol was staring straight at Jeremy now. "So the bind continues."

"The...bind?"

"Between the Salvatore, Lenoir and Petrova destinies. No matter where on the planet, what the circumstances or what the last name is, people who carry blood from these three lines are bound together...drawn together. If you were to produce a child with a Petrova - sorry, _Gilbert_ - then you will have successfully bound all three lines."

Both teenagers bulked. Produce a child? Bonnie chose to ignore the obvious problem with that statement - she and Jeremy were just friends! - and asked a question which interested her more just then.

"Bound? So, like, a magical...thing?"

Carol laughed, the same musical sound Meredith and Bonnie made.

"You're asking a question that stretches back far too long to ascertain, Bon. Myth has it that, yes, a powerful Lenoir witch bound the lines to protect her lover and her best friend."

"Which was which?" Jeremy blurted out.

Carol shrugged. "Like I said...it stretched back far too long."

After a few more follow-up question, Carol sent them on their way, holding Bonnie back at the door while Jeremy started up the car.

"Hold onto that one," she winked.

"Mom, we're not-"

"Oh, I know," she said, smiling wisely as though she knew something Bonnie did not. "But you will."

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	3. Addictive Personalities

_So I got home from my final FINAL Biology exam and I decided to update to get my mind off the billion different ways I may have screwed up. :P I'm happy with how this turned out, there's a lot more Damon in this chapter, and I feel like I know where this is going now. Make sure to read the AN at the end of the chapter when you're done! Please? =]_

**THREE**

Jeremy and Bonnie returned to Mystic Falls at twelve the following afternoon. Jeremy's car pulled to an uneven stop in front of the Salvatore manor.

"Well, the good thing about Meredith is-" Jeremy began as he exited the car and raced to open Bonnie's door for her, "-that she's never been to Mystic Falls before. So as long as we all know not to invite her in to our homes...we should be safe there."

Bonnie nodded in agreement, slightly rattled. She hated road trips.

"Come in, come in!" Damon called exuberantly, widening the double doors further and leaning against the frame with a thin smile. This couldn't be good.

"We have some bad news," Stefan began. Elena had long since gone home, making it clear she wanted Jeremy home soon too. There wasn't much two non-supernaturals could do.

"Worse than what I've already learnt?" Bonnie groaned. She needed to look into relocating to a new town. She explained briefly about her mother, Carol McCullough, being the great-great-great granddaughter of Morgane Salvatore and a clairvoyant man descended from Celtic Druids.

"That's one wack family history," Tyler breathed, half-awed and half-amused.

Bonnie also mentioned the bond, omitting the part about her procreating with a Gilbert.

"Good to know we're so included," Caroline and Tyler both commented drily with a shared roll of their eyes.

Bonnie ruffled her hands through Tyler's hair, shushing him with a small smile.

"What's the bad news?" Jeremy pressed. Purplish bruises with forming under his eyes, sunken with exhaustion.

"Augustus Blanc," Stefan began. "Remember him? Meredith's obsessive lover and creator? Well, he's still alive - in a manner of speaking, of course - and...nobody made him."

"What do you mean? He had to have been turned." Jeremy shared Bonnie's confusion.

"He's an Original," Damon stated gravely. "Would explain his off key behaviour. They tend to be...neurotic. Unstable and dangerous. We have reason to believe he's who Katherine and Meredith were running away from."

"But Meredith was still calling Katherine 'Katerina'," Jeremy pointed out. "They can't have been on the run together."

"Split up, make it harder for Augustus to catch them both." Stefan shrugged. "It makes perfect sense. And he'd go for Katherine first because he loved Meredith."

"Romantic," Damon commented sarcastically, downing his shot of bourbon and acting like this new threat didn't faze him at all.

"Not really," Caroline replied, taking it literally. "More like super-creepy."

Stefan ignored them both. "Well, we need to make sure Elena, Jeremy and Bonnie are okay. Caroline and I are watching Elena's house tonight. Damon and Tyler take Bonnie."

"Kinky." Damon smirked, referring to Stefan's wording.

"You're sick," Bonnie stated bluntly. She was too tired for anything more.

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Damon was the outer guard, meaning he was patrolling the end of Bonnie's road for disturbances while Tyler perched in a tree outside her second-storey window. And this was most definitely a disturbance.

"You," Damon gritted out, curling his hands into fists.

"Ssh," Meredith smiled coyly. Jeremy may have been cute but Damon was downright edible.

"And you're a vamp," she thought aloud.

"How did you-"

"I picked up a few tricks in my time. I hear your friends are trying to hunt me. Not a good idea. I'm the predator here, darling."

"Oh yeah?" Damon bared his fangs, his blue eyes bleeding to black and flashing dangerously.

"Your eyes," Meredith cooed. "They're so beautiful."

Damon made a sound of annoyance from the back of his throat. Beautiful wasn't quite what he was going for. Terrifying was more like it.

"What do you want?" he tried again, allowing his fangs to ascend and the skin under his eyes to smooth to a clear alabaster. He was Damon Salvatore, an icy cool smartass in the face of danger. He was not going to allow Sabrina the Teenage Vampire to get under his skin.

"My powers." Meredith pouted, widening her kaleidoscopic eyes innocently. "It sucks being a vampire - no pun intended - and it's even worse when your access to the Lenoir power is blocked. Some shit about magic being alive and vampires being dead. I dunno. But it's Winter Solstice soon."

"What does Bonnie have to do with any of this?"

Meredith chose to ignore him. She moved languidly, leaning against a tree with one long toned leg propped up behind her. Only now, under the white-hot half moon, did Damon really _look _at her.

The hand painted portraits Stefan had found really did not do her justice. She moved with a quiet stealth, limbs fluid and graceful. Her ebony hair had gone untrimmed in the six hundred years since she posed for the portraits. Even in a high ponytail, the curled ends caressed her well-rounded shapely ass. The face was Bonnie's alright, the same features manipulated by the quiet confidence and silent threat lurking in every expression and gesture.

"Mm, Bonnie..." Meredith pursed her lips. "I can't say I understand her. She could do so much more and yet...she chooses to mate with a mutt and befriend weak _humans_."

Any other time, Damon would have whole-heartedly agreed with her. After all, a Salvatore vampire and a Bennett (or Lenoir, or McCullough, or whatever the hell surprise Bonnie's lineage threw out next) witch would be invincible, indestructible. They were so far above these common Mystic Falls residents. And yet, he felt the strange need to defend her decision. Jeremy may have been human but he was one of the strongest, perseverant kids he knew. Tyler may have been, in Meredith's words, a 'mutt' but he made Bonnie happy like no other witch could and he had definitely come in handy, delivering the fatal bite that ended Katherine's life.

Oh Lord, he was going soft.

"What do you want with her?" Damon's eyes were reduced to slits. He didn't like Meredith's ability to make him second-guess himself. Or maybe she was just exploiting doubts which were already there.

Meredith turned to him, smiling knowingly. "You loved Katerina, didn't you? I hear things, Damon. Surprising things. What was it about her? Was it that coquettish smile? Or that pert little-"

"Katherine's dead." Damon's lips curled into a crooked, thin smile. "I saw to that."

"But you're still angry, heartbroken. Her death hasn't solved anything for you, Damon. I can't see why someone so..." She trailed lithe pianist fingers down his crisp black button shirt, "-_you_, would fall for someone like her."

"Weren't you friends?"

"She was pathetic." Meredith shrugged as though they were discussing the weather. "So desperate for attention, anyone's. Mine, yours, your brother's. Hell, she had the peasant boy in her village whipped when I met her."

Damon gulped. "Was she- Were you two...you know."

He wished he'd stop stuttering. This wasn't characteristic of him.

"Banging? At first. Then she got demanding. She wanted to be 'just like me'. Convenient really, I think her father was beginning to suspect something." She turned her chin up, searching his eyes for something. "Naughty, naughty. You're liking this, aren't you? I can _smell _you, Damon. God, I was told you were a sick masochist but...wanting to fuck the person soon to be responsible for gutting everyone you care about."

"Guess I'm developing Stockholm Syndrome," Damon bit back, ignoring the sheen of perspiration coating his pale skin.

"Guess so," Meredith murmured before practically tackling him. His back hit the rough bark of the tree but he could barely feel it. All he could feel were the soft wet kisses Meredith trailing the down his jaw, the threat of her fangs against his neck and the almost-too-tight grip she had on his member through his dark jeans.

His brain warred with the impulses shooting through his body, setting every nerve alight and warning him not to stop.

"Damon..." Meredith nipped his earlobe. He responded by squeezing her breast hard through the fabric of her navy halter top and flipping their positions against the aged oak tree.

JBJBJBJBJBJBJBJBJB

"Tyler," Bonnie whimpered. She lay flat against her bed, legs tangled in the sweat-drenched white sheets and wrapped around Tyler's toned midsection. The teenage werewolf grunted in reply, biting and sucking her dusky nipple so fervently it bordered on violent. He always knew when to pull back, though. He felt when the threshold between pain and pleasure was crossed as though they were spiritually connected. He wrote off the thought as cheesy when it first crossed his mind.

"Mm." She bucked her hips in response, eliciting a low moan from Tyler who ceased his ministrations at once. Bonnie's smiled in what she hoped was a sexy way. She wasn't good at this. Not like Elena or Caroline who had heaps of vampy and normal sex in comparison. She simply moved her hips around and hoped she wasn't a 'disappointing lay'. She revealed as much to Tyler whose eyes widened incredulously.

"You're kidding, right Bon? I'm still pinching myself and wondering how I was allowed this far in the first place. You're perfect, nothing could change that."

She grinned, biting her lips ecstatically and pulling him down for a long, sweet kiss rendered inappropriate by the fact that they couldn't keep their hands off of each other.

Suddenly, a violent knock against her window startled them, causing Bonnie to straighten up and Tyler to consequently fall off the bed. He landed on the floor of Bonnie's bedroom, landing on his grey boxer-clad bottom with a thud.

"Ow," he said, shuffling off the floor quickly and reaching for his pants. The older vampire clambering through Bonnie's window was too quick, however, and Tyler was relegated to the adjacent bathroom.

"This guarding thing," Damon began, "-is no fun, and entirely unfair. Stefan is probably screwing Elena's brains out as we speak while you and Tyler are doing the horizontal hokey-pokey. There is nothing to this far-guard thing. It's bullshit, I tell you."

Bonnie said nothing, wondering when he was going to end his tirade and realize she lay awkwardly holding her legs close to her chest, wearing a set of matching black lace panties. She was oddly thankful that the set was so comfortable and complemented her so well. The well-placed padding unnaturally emphasized her normally B-cup chest.

Tyler emerged from the bathroom, wearing his now belted and buttoned light blue jeans. He remained topless, throwing his shirt to Bonnie and standing protectively between her and Damon.

"What's that smell?" Tyler began, inhaling deeper. "It's all over you. Smells like vampire."

"No shit, Sherlock. I wonder why _that_ could be." Damon shot a smug smile over Tyler's shoulder to Bonnie, as though they shared a secret. He was grateful he was at least taller than the werewolf.

"No, _another_ vampire." Tyler continued inhaling deeply through his nostrils. Damon backed away when Tyler ventured closer.

"This kid's good. We should lease him out to the police department as a sniffer dog. Until then, I'm going to patrol the street once and then I'm heading home."

He hooked one leg over the window frame he'd come through, before turning and adding as an afterthought: "Use protection, kids."

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_a/n: So I'm posting a lot of my writing/fanfiction/discussions on a new LJ community I've just started. I'll probably post my "hardcore lemons" on there (if it gets to that) as I don't want this story getting deleted on FF. _

_http:/community. livejournal .com/ enter_carnival/_

_Without the spaces, of course. ;) It's also my homepage. Hope to see some of you join. Maybe? =]_


	4. The Break Up

**FOUR**

It was a Monday afternoon, marking the first school day since the fateful Winter Carnival. At 12 in the afternoon, six grim-faced people - three vampires, a werewolf, a witch and...Jeremy -sat around the dusty Salvatore library, examining their options.

"You shouldn't have come," Bonnie told Jeremy matter-of-factly. "You have school."

"So do you."

"Meredith has more to do with me than anyone else. I have to be here. Plus, I'm a witch. I can hold my own."

"Oh, and I can't?" Jeremy asked, his anger building.

"Let's not do this now, please." Damon shot them a look of bored frustration. "There are more important matters at hand than the repressed sexual tension between you and Elena's baby brother."

Bonnie glared at Damon, cheeks flushing from his bluntness.

"I don't see why this is so hard," Tyler spoke up, sauntering back into the room after he'd left to raid the Salvatore's fridge and pantry. Judging by his empty hands and sour expression, he'd found nothing to satiate his wolfish appetite. "We'll stake her, burn her, rip her head off. Hell, if she sticks around a couple of days, I could bite her. There isn't exactly a shortage of ways to kill a vampire."

"That's...helpful," Stefan deadpanned.

"Glad to be of service," Tyler returned. the humour lighting his dark eyes betraying his serious expression.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "But Meredith is different from Katherine. She has a greater agenda. We just need to find out what."

Damon cleared his throat. A rare shadow of doubt clouded his blue eyes. "Magic."

"Come again?" Bonnie turned, lifting an eyebrow.

"She's trying to regain her access to the Lenoir power, which you currently have, but she can't because of some archaic thing where vampires are dead and magic is alive- What?"

"How do you know all this?" Jeremy asked. The suspicion evident on his face mirrored every other person in the room.

"Have you...talked to Meredith?" Bonnie reached, trying for subtlety as her hand brushed his forearm. She gasped as images rushed into her head of a woman who looked uncannily like her. Clothes fell to the moist green carpet of grass below and rough bark scraped against quickly healing skin. She and Damon were a tangle of limbs and a single chorus of pants and groans.

"Hey!" Damon pushed away from her, looking embarrassed and angry. "Stay out of my head, witch!"

Bonnie's eyes narrowed to slits. "You met Meredith last night."

Stefan exclaimed, "And you never said anything?"

"I didn't get a chance," Damon replied lamely, eyes locked on Bonnie's unwavering glare.

"Of course not," she snorted. "He was too busy being all post-coital to remember."

Caroline furrowed her brows. "Post-coital?"

Tyler murmured a quick definition to her and her green eyes widened. "Oh."

Stefan sped to Damon on feet that barely disturbed the mahogany floor, knocking his older brother into a shelf of books at least ten feet away.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Stefan roared.

Damon righted himself immediately, not responding. Jeremy wrapped a protective arm around his witch, moving her far from the warring brothers.

"You are sick," Stefan continued. "Absolutely sick, you know that?"

Damon muttered something unflattering about the younger vampire and Stefan lunged for his again, missing his by a hair.

"Maybe we should just go outside," Jeremy suggested as Stefan began saying, "It was the same with Katherine-"

Once out of earshot, Bonnie allowed the hot tears misting her mossy brown eyes to stream down her cheeks with abandon.

"Hey Bon, don't cry," Jeremy pleaded, slightly panicky. "Damon's a dick. You still have the rest of us protecting you."

This only inspired a fresh batch of tears. Holding onto his white letter shirt, Bonnie hoped he didn't look down to see her scrunched up face, red eyes and swollen wet nose. She didn't seem to cry delicately like romance novel heroines. It was always a loud, sobbing affair with her. Then again, she didn't know why she cared.

"It was m-my face," Bonnie explained, knowing she made no sense. "Now I know how Elena f-feels. It's horrible, Jer. It really, really is. He signed on to help me but he turns around a-and-".

Deciding she couldn't go on anymore, Bonnie allowed her tiny form to lean into Jeremy's side, liking how they fit so perfectly. Like two pieces to a jigsaw puzzle.

"Jeremy," a cold voice beckoned. Both teenagers looked up to see the not too happy form of Tyler looming over them.

"Hey Ty," was all Jeremy responded with. Surely, he wouldn't go all jealous Alpha-male douche bag on them now that Bonnie was so upset.

"Why don't you help Caroline calm things out in there. I'll sit with Bonnie."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "You're stronger than me. Why don't you help Caroline?"

Tyler seemed to war between smiling at Jeremy's admission that he was, in fact, physically superior or punching the smaller boy's throat in for being so close to Bonnie. _His_ girlfriend. His _mate_.

"It's fine, Jer. Go." Bonnie looked to him, eyes soft and pleading. He reluctantly peeled himself from her, making sure to shove Tyler extra hard before re-entering to library foyer.

To his dismay, the werewolf barely budged and was smirking as though it hadn't hurt him in the slightest.

"You know, you didn't have to be such an ass."

Tyler opened his mouth to argue but closed it again at the withering look Bonnie gave him.

"Sorry?" he offered meekly. Sighing, he scooted closer to her. "I'm sorry, Bon-Bon."

Bonnie smiled at the silly nickname he'd bestowed on her.

"I guess I just wanted you all to myself," he explained, nibbling her earlobe. She made to push him away but instead giggled as she felt a wet tongue trace the curve of her ear.

"You know, things were finally getting interesting last night before Salvatore decided to so rudely drop in."

Bonnie's throat suddenly felt very dry. "Yeah, they were."

"So tonight, at the Lockwood manor. Say, around 8?"

Bonnie turned. "Dinner?"

Tyler scoffed. "Please, my mum would kill me if she found out I was running around with a girl _not_ from a Founding family. I meant more like...my bedroom."

Bonnie's blood ran cold and she mustered the energy to push him off her. "Well, I'm sorry to be such a disappointment to Mummy dearest," she spat.

"Bon, it's not like that. It's-"

"Isn't it?" Bonnie asked sceptically. "I mean, you treated Vicky the same way. We never go out to a nice dinner or even coffee in public. Half the time you're in my room, either your tongue's down my throat or your hand's up my shirt. Do you even know anything about me?"

"You're Bonnie Bennett, you're a cheerleader, a witch - and a damn good one at that - you're smart, kind and funny."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. "Those aren't things about me. They're random adjectives out of a dating dictionary. Anyone in that room-" she gestured to the library entrance, "- could say that about me. It's not really knowing a person."

Tyler sighed. He so did not want to have this conversation now.

"Oh, fuck me. Why have you got to be so difficult, Bennett?"

"Asking a simple question is being difficult now? You know what? Your life would be so much easier if you just dated one of the Fell chicks."

"Are you breaking up with me?" Tyler scoffed, trying to sound confident and self-assured but feeling pathetic and scared.

"Yes," Bonnie said firmly, turned and picking herself up before she lost her resolve. "It's over, Tyler."

She tried to depart dramatically but ended up crashing into Jeremy once in the library foyer.

_Unf! _

"Ow," Jeremy moaned, rubbing his forearm. "Hey, you alright?"

Bonnie tried futilely to rub away the tears leaking out of her eyes. Jeremy seethed inside. He had left an almost cheerful Bonnie and gotten her to stop crying. Why could Tyler assface Lockwood have done to screw that up in such a short period of time?

"Tyler and I-" Bonnie began, hiccupping. "We broke up."

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**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating! Exams are over, I've graduated high school and all is well again so I can update much more frequently. This is so exciting! :D**

**Unrelated, but did anyone go to see the new Harry Potter film? **_So good!_** Well worth the wait, methinks. :D**


	5. Grievances

**FIVE**

The gears in Jeremy's brain slowed as though someone had just poured a pot of hot, viscous honey over them. A war waged within him, with one part manipulating his hormones into a frenzied joy, and the other searching Bonnie's stricken face for any clues as to what his next move should be.

"Uh…I am so sorry, Bon."

Bonnie hiccuped, fat tears leaking from the corners of her eyes as a small hand trembled in front of her mouth.

"Back off, Gilbert." An angry looking Tyler Lockwood barged in behind Bonnie, glaring at Jeremy. Almost immediately, his expression softened and he turned Bonnie around.

"Bon, I don't-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Bonnie screeched. Jeremy was taken aback. Never in his lifetime of knowing her had Bonnie Bennett ever lost her calm so quickly.

Her screams sent Damon, Stefan and Caroline racing into the hallway.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Caroline moved to comfort her friend.

"I'm going home," Bonnie announced in a shaky voice. "Just…ring me if there are any new dev-developments." She turned on her heel, sidestepped Tyler, and banged out of the front door.

A few moments of awkward silence passed and Jeremy resisted the urge to follow her. He could see this resistance mirrored in Tyler's pained expression.

"So…does this mean she's not mad at me for banging her evil doppelganger anymore?" Damon asked tactlessly, with one brow comically raised in Tyler's direction in classic Damon fashion.

"Shut up, Salvatore," growled Tyler.

"Hey, thanks man." Damon winked at him, turning smoothly to re-enter the library. Stefan coughed superficially.

"Alright, maybe we should all call it a day. We can meet back here after school on Wednesday."

"I have cheerleading," Caroline said softly. "With Bonnie."

"Until when?" asked Stefan.

"Around 5."

"Great, I'll pick you up."

"Erm…I have a car, Stefan."

Stefan looked surprised for a moment. "Right… Right, 'course you do. Well, we'll all meet back here then. At 5:30."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Or a lack of one," muttered Jeremy before retracing Bonnie's footsteps to the front door and leaving as well.

* * *

Bonnie didn't come to school the next day, or the next. Jeremy spent Tuesday and Wednesday scouring places she might be on school grounds in a way that was pathetic, even for him. He checked the gym, the senior buildings, and the cafeteria at 12:30 (her lunch hour, even though he had Geography). Nothing. Nada. Zip.

Bonnie Bennett was grieving. Tuesday afternoon, he fired off a quick text to Elena, letting her know he was taking the car and that she should get a ride with Stefan or Caroline, and drove straight to the one place he knew Bonnie went when she was upset. Her grams' house.

_Ding-dong._

Trust old Sheila Bennett to have such a generic ringtone.

_Ding-ding-ding dong._

He jabbed his finger into the small circular button multiple times anxiously. Finally, the door creaked open a few inches.

"Jer?"

"How did you know? Witchy sixth-sense?" he teased.

"Hardly, I saw you through the window when you drove up and through the little glass eyeball thing when you rang the- Never mind. Come in."

Jeremy stepped over the dusty threshold and into the homely residence formerly belonging to Sheila Bennett.

There was a carton of Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra on the coffee table with a spoon securely wedged in it, and Antonio Banderas' face paused on the small TV screen.

"So…" Jeremy began, perching himself uncomfortably on the armchair of the plush maroon sofa. "How're you holding up?"

Bonnie shrugged her petite shoulders weakly. "It's just…weird, you know? Normally, I'd turn to Tyler when I felt this… this _shitty_. But I c-…I can't."

Her voice threatened to break and she stopped, looking down at the frayed hems of her pink tie-dyed gypsy skirt and smoothing the threads between her shapely fingers.

Jeremy sighed. "You really shouldn't waste so much energy on someone who treated you like that. I may not know what he said but… I _know_ Tyler Lockwood; I've known him his entire life. He'll move on in a week, and so should you. Well, preferably now instead of a week, but…you know."

Bonnie giggled softly. "You're so bad with words, Gilbert."

Jeremy blushed a deep scarlet. "Just being helpful…Bennett."

"I appreciate it," Bonnie said sincerely. "So…uh, why don't you join me?"

"What, listening to the _Un_greatest hits of Brian Adams?"

"Are you saying I'm a break-up stereotype?" Bonnie joked in a lilting voice. A smile tugged at the right corner of her lips.

"Eh…mushy films, Ben & Jerry's. I'd say you're halfway there."

Jeremy threw in a cheeky wink for good measure. Bonnie threw her ice-cold spoon at him, which she'd dislodged from the ice cream carton. It caught his jaw, as did a small glob of Karamel Sutra.

"Oh, you'll pay for that Bennett," Jeremy mock-threatened as he tacked her giggling form into the couch.

* * *

"Caroline!" Stefan called from across the student parking lot. Caroline turned to see the older vampire flagging her down before jogging across to her mint green VW Bug.

"Hey, have you talked to Bonnie?"

"Nope, haven't seen her at school either. I think Jeremy said something about going to see her."

"Oh…" Stefan bit his bottom lip, thick brown eyebrows furrowing. "Hope she isn't too broken up, we need her to stop Meredith."

"Another big bad slutty vampire, another night in Mystic Falls." Caroline rolled her eyes.

Stefan laughed.

"Was that a joke you just made?" Stefan teased.

"Prissy Caroline Forbes made a joke, alert the media." Caroline smiled to show him she was joking,

"I didn't mean it like that…" Stefan began.

"No, it's fine. I'm just glad you found it funny. I haven't seen you laugh since…well, ever."

"Hey, I laugh!" Stefan pretended to take offense, holding his hand to his heart as though he were wounded.

"Oh, those little hiccup-y sounds you make like an oxygen-starved asthmatic don't count. I always wrote that off as gas."

"Vampires don't get gas," Stefan pointed out, his expression the picture of amusement.

"Or jokes, apparently."

"Alright, I set myself up for that one," Stefan admitted. "So what's wrong with Bonnie, anyway?"

"Tyler Lockwood. I think they broke up."

"Seriously? He was fine at practice today."

"Which is why Bonnie needs to hurry up and get over that asswipe who clearly doesn't give a crap about her."

"You're concerned about your friend, I get it. I'd be too. But try to not to make things anymore hostile between them. Remember, they're both an important member of the team."

"Team? We sound like the Scooby gang or something."

"You'd be Daphne, I suppose?"

"For sure."


End file.
